Town orders new No Smoking signs for TOBAY Beach
Susan Goldfeder, a breast cancer survivor, has been trying to have the No Smoking signs restored at TOBAY Beach. Officials say the signs were stolen and will be replaced.
Newsday photo by Gwen Young
There used to be No Smoking signs at TOBAY Beach. I’ve been trying for about two years to have them replaced so I don’t have to keep asking people not to smoke there. I’ve called Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto’s office and Nassau County for new signs, but all I get is excuses. The last time I called, they said the person who makes the signs left for another department. Then they said they’re working on it, but nothing’s been done. It’s really upsetting. I had breast cancer a few years ago and I don’t want a recurrence. I don’t want to breathe in somebody's second-hand smoke.
--Susan Goldfeder, Plainview
New signs were ordered after we called the town, and officials hope to have them installed this week. “There were signs and they were stolen,” spokeswoman Marta Kane said. “Unfortunately, that happens.”
From what we saw (and smelled) when we recently visited TOBAY, the town’s no-smoking ordinance that applies to all its beaches and parks is either little-known or ignored.
The beach, tunnel and food concession areas are all No Smoking zones. The only place where smoking is allowed at TOBAY is the parking lot, Kane said.
If smokers light up despite the signs, beach goers can request a TOBAY employee to ask them to douse their cigarettes.
“Our No. 1 goal is compliance,” she said. Most smokers will cooperate but those who refuse can be given a summons to appear in court, she said. The maximum fine is $250.
Town residents with missing sign problems can call public safety, 516-677-5757.
